Adecco purchase

Multi-sector recruiter Adecco has announced that it will not be making an offer for financial recruiter Michael Page and will remain “financially disciplined”.

Adecco, who had a £1.3bn offer rejected last month, said that a deal could have benefited both recruiters and their respective shareholders but had now concluded that it could not agree a combination on terms acceptable to both Adecco and the board of Michael Page at this time.
Adecco has reserved the right to make a future offer for Michael Page within six months if an agreement can be made with the group’s board or if a third party comes in with an offer for Michael Page.

Michael Page’s board released a statement saying that it had unanimously concluded that Adecco had materially undervalued the financial recruiter and its prospects, and that the interests of shareholders and employees would be better served by Michael Page remaining an independent entity.

The statement added that the board believes that Michael Page’s clear strategy of organically diversifying its activities by geography and discipline and increasing its exposure to growth markets, together with the longer-term structural growth drivers of the specialist recruitment market, means that the recruiter has excellent prospects.

* - Article from recruiter